Bill is 81-years-old I think. He may be older. Whatever an 81-year-old is supposed to look like, he doesn't; however an 81-year-old is supposed to act, he doesn't. That's what I like about Bill. He is the most active and fit man in his eighties that I know. If I make it to his age, I hope I'm still active and reasonably fit.
First time I rode with him I thought,"Well, maybe I'll need to lighten up my pace a bit." Not so. We rode at a comfortable, yet challenging clip for a couple hours. My assumptions were corrected.
Oh...by the way...the one on the right is Bill! I posted this picture on Facebook, and a friend asked, "Which one's the 81-year-old?"
My bike riding with Bill has reminded me of a couple things. I already knew them, but it's good to have reminders. For one thing, I must stay active. Keep moving. Do something that involves movement. My new physician said that the negative effects of inactivity are worse than anything--including smoking and drinking too much. Sometimes it hurts when I start riding, and I start mumbling and groaning about my age or my aches or pains. But, wonder of wonders, after half-an-hour or so, the pain eases off. Oh, it'll come back, but it's nice to not hurt when I'm being active. "Use it or lose it" is a hackneyed mantra; however, it's over-used because it's true. The more I move, the less I hurt.
The second reminder is that I need to rest when I'm tired. About mid-point during our last ride, Bill said, "See that driveway up there? Let's pull over for a little breather." So, we did. We ate a little something and drank some water, and in a few minutes we started. It was refreshing. We all need to understand we can't push too hard. Pulling over for a little breather is a good and necessary discipline.
Keep moving and stop when you need to...good reminders.
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